CH105 - Pac-Man - III

Experience has shown that when one is focused on a task, one lose track of the passage of time.

At 9 in the morning, the studio officially started its work, and before Ethan knew it, it was already noon. He called the nearby Pizza shop and ordered two pizzas to quickly resolve his lunch. After a simple lunch, he immersed himself in work again until it was dark.

Then he realized...

He had drawn fifteen rough maps and translated them into computer code!

Such a work ethic would have been unimaginable in Ethan's past life. After all, in an era without room for advancement, no matter how much a worker did, it was only for the boss's benefit. When life became discernible tomorrow, mastering the art of slacking off at work was considered understanding the ways of life.

But now...

Whether the work was a lot or a little, it was all his own!

In this situation, if one couldn't muster the spirit to work hard, then they truly deserved not to earn any money! However, although this state of obliviousness to the outside world could improve work efficiency, it also made one overlook many things. For instance, when November 30th arrived, Thomas and Linda appeared with a cake, and Ethan only belatedly realized that it was his birthday today.

"Happy birthday, Ethan—"

Thomas gave Ethan a big hug and handed him a gift.

"Happy birthday, Ethan—"

Linda, too, followed suit. While lifting the cake, she said with a smile, "Oh Ethan, I know you don't like cream, so I specially made a fruit cake for you with a chiffon base, topped with kiwi, strawberries, and mango. I hope you like it."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Ethan was pleasantly surprised by their appearance.

Even more surprising to him were Evelyn and Woz.

"Today is your birthday?"

Woz widened his eyes.

"Oh my god! Bro! Why didn't you say earlier? I didn't even prepare a gift for you!"

Evelyn looked embarrassed and shrugged, "Ethan, I'm sorry, I forgot about this..."

Ethan smiled and waved, "Oh, don't worry, I even forgot myself."

Ethan spoke the truth; he hadn't celebrated his birthday for many years. In his previous life, being away from home, he received only telephonic greetings, and in this life...

Who would remember the birthday of the original body's owner?

But since the festive atmosphere had begun, Ethan didn't dampen the mood. He invited Thomas and Linda to have dinner at his place, then actively went out to buy ingredients. Not only that, to add more liveliness, he sent Woz to invite his girlfriend and called Jobs, and asked Evelyn to check if Barbara and the others were available. Although it was a bit inappropriate to notify them at the last minute, unexpected surprises were more interesting.

Because it was the weekend on the thirtieth, everyone was considerate. That evening, a group of people gathered at Ethan's home to celebrate his birthday. Although the dishes were not lavish, many were hurriedly prepared with the help of Thomas and Linda. The celebratory props were not perfect either, apart from the traditional singing of the birthday song and blowing candles, there were no other arrangements. But the atmosphere of celebration made Ethan quite happy.

As November came to an end, the entire year of 1975 was also drawing to a close.

When December arrived, Ethan did two things.

First, Professor Barbara Babcock's case collection was finally launched.

Due to the earlier promise to buy the case collection and donate it to the school, Ethan, upon receiving the news, instructed the two administrative personnel in the company to handle it. He had Damio Dean buy five thousand copies at $29.99 each, bundled with some case reports previously written by Barbara. He then instructed Eulise Noble to contact schools and libraries on the West Coast, donating them in batches of fifty as a baseline.

When he spent three hundred thousand dollars to ensure that the West Coast school library would have books by Professor Barbara, the grateful professor called to thank him. At the same time, she brought good news to Ethan—

"Ethan, the discussion on amending the copyright protection law has concluded. Next year, the federal government will amend the content of the copyright protection law, clearly distinguishing between corporate and individual copyright protection clauses. I've read the final draft, and registering the copyright in the name of the company is most beneficial for you. So, when the temporary patent application for 'Snake Game' expires, you can directly register the copyright in the name of Destiny Games."

"Oh, thank you, Barbara. I like this news," Ethan thanked her with a smile.

The second thing Ethan did was for Christmas.

Although 'Pac-Man' was in a crucial stage of development, Ethan didn't want to ignore the annual celebration in North America. Therefore, as the holiday approached, he followed the usual procedure, granting leave to company employees and sending Woz, the guy with family, back home. He also instructed him to come back to work after the new year in January.

On Christmas Eve, Ethan didn't engage in inhumane overtime but went back with Evelyn to Thomas and Linda's home. They had a big meal with the two elderly people, and then the family gathered in front of the television to watch the long-replayed "It's a Wonderful Life."

It was an inspirational movie about a protagonist who, on the brink of suicide due to losing faith in life, is visited by an angel sent by God to save his believer from the depths of despair.

After facing setbacks, the protagonist regains courage and welcomes all the challenges in life with a smile.

Due to its religious theological theme, the movie received high praise in North America.

Although Ethan wasn't particularly interested in such stories of gospel intervention, he still watched it with relish. When the midnight bell rang, Ethan wished his friends a happy holiday according to the list he had prepared in advance.

As for why Ethan made simple things complicated?

It's simple!

Because people like Jobs, Woz, Barbara, Chuck Peddle, those guys could accept blessings during Christmas.

But Spielberg, Ralph H. Baer, and those guys only celebrated Hanukkah.

When such differentiation occurred, special treatment had to be given in special circumstances.

After Ethan maintained relationships around him, he felt for the first time that email was indeed a great invention.

Because a click of the mouse could mass-send, much more efficiently than making phone calls!

And just as he marveled, for many years to come, he would have to engage in such tedious greetings. Suddenly, the closed door was pushed open from the outside. Turning around, Ethan was surprised! Evelyn had sneaked in like a thief!

"What are you doing?" Ethan was a bit confused.

Evelyn jumped to his side, saying, "Let's go back."

"What?" Ethan didn't understand.

"Let's go back and write code...," Evelyn said, "Staying at home is so boring! It's better to go back and write code!"

"I feel like watching movies and TV is really a waste of time now. What's the point of making games?"

"And I've almost finished writing the code for the first ghost. I really want to see how it runs!"

Damn!

Ethan was shocked!

He never expected there would be a workaholic who voluntarily worked on New Year's Day in this world?

Feeling uncomfortable if not writing code?

What kind of situation was this?

But...

Ethan was only surprised for a second, then he jumped up from the bed, "Okay, let's go."

Yes, even he felt uncomfortable now.

Because of idleness!

Perhaps it was God's blessing.